SPOT, A 3D environnement for direct sunlight visualization
Résumé :
MAP - CRAI, Nancy
Stage effectué à DMG-University of Washington (USA)
ABSTRACT: Daylighting is the most pleasant, economical and ecological source of energy for building (1). Le Corbusier strongly advocated that, "Each dwelling must have a set amount of hours for daylight to enter" (2). A simulation and visualization tool can help designers understand and recognize ligtting problems and opportunities that should be considered during the early conceptual design stage. We present SPOT, a software amount projected on specific areas over time in a navigable 6D web environment (Java3D).
Recent research enables quick generation of 3D models. VR SketchPad (3) interprets freehand sketches into 3D geometry. Harold (4) and SpacerPen (5) support direct drawing in 3D spaces. However, none of these tools provide rapid direct sunlighting simulation in the 3D environment. Even though ray tracing comptuter graphic methods, such as "Radiance" (6), can simulate photorealistic lighting effects of a space at a given moment in a viewpoint, they do not provide real time feedback of lighting effects over time. Using them as a design analysis tool requires a great deat deal of trials to be performed on different days of the year, time of the day and from several vviewpoints. This process is time consuming because it involves constant adjustments of the sun's position and image rendering. Therefore, we built SOPT to enable architects to perform quick visualization and assessment of direct sunlight effects during the early stages of design.